


What No One Knows

by Destiel_Sabriel4eva



Series: Harry Potter One-Shots [8]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Blackmail, F/M, Implied homophobia, M/M, The Prank, The Snape Incident, Whatever it is you want to call it, Whomping Willow Incident
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-04-04 14:57:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14022720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Destiel_Sabriel4eva/pseuds/Destiel_Sabriel4eva
Summary: “There’s a knot on the trunk of the Whomping Willow, hit it with a stick, the branches will stop moving.  There’s a tunnel at the bottom of it, just follow it,” Sirius tells him quietly, Severus smirks again.“Thank you for your co-operation.”





	What No One Knows

“…so mind your own damned business, _Snivellus_ ,” Sirius spat, Severus smirks.

“You know, I really think you’re going to tell me what it is you’re all hiding.”  Severus pulls a photo out of his pocket and shows it to him, Sirius’ breath catches in his throat.

“Reg…” The photo, a wizards one so it moves which makes it all the worse, is of Regulus and a _Hufflepuff_ from his year making out…a _muggle-born_ Hufflepuff…a _male_ muggle-born Hufflepuff.

“So, who’s more important to you?  Your Marauders?  Or the brother you abandoned once already?”  Sirius feels tears in his eyes because the words are true, he did abandon Regulus, and he can’t do it again.

“There’s a knot on the trunk of the Whomping Willow, hit it with a stick, the branches will stop moving.  There’s a tunnel at the bottom of it, just follow it,” Sirius tells him quietly, Severus smirks again.

“Thank you for your co-operation.”  Severus takes off for the tree, Sirius waits until he’s out of sight before sprinting up to the Gryffindor common room.

“JAMES!” Sirius screams, looking around before hurrying up the stairs to the dorm, “JAMES!”

“Sirius, what is it, what’s wrong?”

“Snape, he knows, he knows how to get past the Whomping Willow, you’ve got to stop him!” James’ eyes widen, he sprints out of the dorm.

“TELL POMFREY!” He yells over his shoulder, Sirius takes another lungful of air before running out as well.  Peter sits on his bed, treacle tart half in his mouth before he decides he really ought to tell Dumbledore…or maybe McGonagall, yes, McGonagall is less intimidating…sort of.

 

The next day Sirius is pacing outside the Infirmary when Severus walks out, he walks over to him when he sees him.

“Got what you wanted?” Sirius asks with a sneer.

“You nearly killed me.”

“I did what you asked, now give me the photo.”  Severus debates this for a moment before he smirks and hands it over, much to the surprise of Sirius.

“You know, they’ll never forgive you for this, and you can’t tell them why.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because if you do, you’ll have to tell them about Regulus, are you really going to risk that?” Sirius hesitates, Severus chuckles, walking away, “You’ve come this far for him Black, how far are you willing to go?”

Sirius walks to the door of the infirmary, torment clear on his face before he takes a breath and schools it, walking in.

“Padfoot, what the hell happened, how did he find out?  He says you sent him down there!” James demands as soon as he enters, Sirius sees Remus awake as well, looking very pale, Peter beside him.  McGonagall and Dumbledore in the room as well.  Sirius carefully slips the photo into his pocket.

“I did,” He replies quietly, no one was expecting that answer, not even Dumbledore.

“You-what?” Peter asks, Sirius can’t meet there eyes.

“I told him how to get down there,” Sirius says, stronger this time.  Suddenly James has him against the wall by his collar.

“MR POTTER!” McGonagall shouts, he ignores her.

“WHAT THE HELL PADFOOT!?  HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?!” Sirius swallows down the bile in his throat and gives the only answer he can think of.

“It was just a prank James, relax.”  Next thing he knows he’s on the floor with a broken nose and Peter is holding James back.

James had hit him.  He had actually punched him in the face.  Sirius supposes that from his perspective it was more than deserved, but he never really thought he’d hurt him.

Pomfrey fixes his nose, though she seems to have more than half a mind to leave it broken.

“Get the hell out,” James demands lowly. 

He doesn’t look over at Remus.

He walks away.

Shutting the door behind him.

 

He never finds out that they had more faith in him than was probably deserved.  Never found out they’d spent the night and next day trying to work it out.  Never discovered that they’d realised he must have been blackmailed.  Never new that since Remus couldn’t leave the infirmary, James was the one to search his dorm room which left Peter on distraction duty.  They never tell him that the reason Peter gets detention for three months is because his ‘distraction’ got off track when Malfoy got involved followed by Avery and in the end he accidentally set the library on fire.  They especially never tell him that James found several copies of the photo hidden through the room and burnt them all.  Nor that, upon being briefed by the other two, Remus took it upon himself to risk expulsion and Azkaban by putting the fear of god into Severus and making sure he never tries something like this with Sirius again and leaves Regulus the hell alone as well.  No one told him that’s the real reason Severus hates Remus so much.

All Sirius knows is that a week after the incident he comes back to the dorm to find his friends on his bed with a bunch of chocolate and other deserts.

“Pads, thank Merlin, we were just hearing James’ latest scheme to steal Evans’ heart.  Please tell him he’s an idiot and shouldn’t break into her house,” Remus requests, Sirius freezes in shock.  James nods to him, Peter moving over to make room for him.  Sirius slowly sits down, looking wary like he expects an attack.

“So here’s the plan…” As James details a plan, ridiculous even for him, Sirius feels his eyes steadily filling with tears that he ignores.  The others don’t mention it when one falls.  They all fall asleep on Sirius’ bed, like they often did when they were younger.

“Why?” Sirius asks into the dark when he notices Remus is awake, Remus smiles at him.

“Family comes first, always.”  Sirius doesn’t know what to make of that, but he accepts it, and if he takes a bit of pleasure in Severus’ dark expression at breakfast the next day when he sees he’s been accepted back in, well, no one has to know.

 


End file.
